FAST AND FURIOUS MEAL PREP

by Janis Lane

How do you plan your shopping? Sit down and figure out a week of meals? Grab what’s on sale at the grocery store? Buy a week’s meat and plan the rest around that? At my house we build in left-over meals and give them equal importance to the food at first appearance. After a delicious pot roast, potatoes, carrots, next day is planned a favorite, Pot Roast Soup.

Easy peasy to make when you have the broth, meat and three of the veggies already there.

TONIGHT’S MENU

Leftover Pot Roast Soup
Salad
Corn Bread or Sesame Seed rolls

Leftover Pot Roast Soup
1 – 2 cups cubed pot roast
½ cup cooked or 1 cup fresh cubed potato
½ cup cooked or 1 cup fresh onion, sliced
1 cup carrots, cooked and diced
8 oz can tomatoes diced.
1 cup total fresh or frozen green beans, peas, broccoli bits, corn*
Broth from the previously cooked pot roast plus 1 cube beef bullion
1 cup water, more if you like extra broth.
1 sprig fresh thyme or pinch dried, remove sprig before serving
½ tsp. chopped fresh basil or dash dried, optional

Combine all ingredients in a medium-sized pot. Bring to a boil and simmer on low heat 35 to 45 minutes. Ideally everything in your soup is cooked or fresh, but the flavors need to blend. Stir occasionally.

Do not add water at the last minute. Make that decision at the beginning of your prep.

*Careful not to add too much. Remember - this is a soup, not a stew.

While you wait, use your favorite corn bread recipe and prepare a simple salad.

Quick Salad
Lettuce, Romaine, Buttercrunch, or one of the dark salad greens. Iceberg is okay
Canned peaches or slices of fresh apple/pears/oranges/ avocado/ fresh or canned pineapple
Dollop cream cheese or a small slice cheddar
Sprinkle of nutmeg

Arrange lettuce on a salad plate. Top with fruit. Add the cheese and nutmeg. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Dessert
Cookie and one cup of your favorite ice cream

Any pot roast left over? Freeze and serve at a later time over baked potato.

Please allow me to introduce you to my latest cozy mystery, a Detective Kevin Fowler short story, for your reading pleasure.

Can reality be bridged by the distress of an elderly woman?

A handsome new neighbor sneezes when he enters the home of an elderly woman who owns only glass cats.

Is there a romance beginning between both her neighbors?

The death of a greedy, abusive nephew is rendered poetic justice.

Detective Kevin Fowler investigates.


Read more about the cozy mysteries by Janis Lane on Amazon.



Janis Lane is the pen-name for gifted author Emma Lane who writes cozy mysteries as Janis, Regency as Emma, and spicy as Sunny Lane.

She lives in Western New York where winter is snowy, spring arrives with rave reviews, summer days are long and velvet, and fall leaves are riotous in color. At long last she enjoys the perfect bow window for her desk where she is treated to a year-round panoramic view of nature. Her computer opens up a fourth fascinating window to the world. Her patient husband is always available to help with a plot twist and encourage Emma to never quit. Her day job is working with flowers at Herbtique and Plant Nursery, the nursery she and her son own.

Look for information about writing and plants on Emma's new website. Leave a comment or a gardening question and put a smile on Emma's face.

Stay connected to Emma on Facebook and Twitter.

Don't Wait for Cupid - Create Your Own Romance

Valentine Day Candlelight Dinner for Two
by Sunny Lane

Someone started a rumor that men are turned on by snazzy clothing. What do you think? We ladies know how we love our jeans and sneakers, but occasionally we are moxie enough to pull out the slinky short dress and wow our fellows. A strappy pair of "love me" spike heels and a sparkly purse complete the outfit. How does it make YOU feel?

Perhaps more important than how HE feels is how dressing up changes our attitudes, and romance starts in the mind, right? A flickering candle on the table can turn even a meatloaf into a dinner date. February is the month to stay in and light a fire; which fire you decide to light is totally up to you. Viva la Valentine's Day with short dresses, perfume, and candlelight. Oh, and chocolates, of course.

So this Valentine’s Day go all out to create the perfect dinner, I suggest you set the table with three to ten tea lights in pretty glass containers. Nothing spells romance like flickering candlelight. Be sure to use a crisp tablecloth with sparkling silverware. Wine and water glasses should also grace your table. Sparkling water works great if you’re not a wine drinker. Be sure to include red or white napkins tied with red ribbon. A small bouquet of fresh flowers in the center of the table adds an elegant touch. Another larger bouquet on the buffet or coffee table-somewhere in the room adds a little more romance. An apple thing (anything) baking in the oven. Men love the fragrance of baking. Probably so do you.

Appetizer
Start your evening with Fresh Strawberries arranged in a crystal bowl and sprinkled with sugar or confectioner’s sugar accompanied by a glass of white wine, preferably the sparking kind. Don’t forget the napkins and a dish for the stems.

Dinner
Steak (switch to red wine)
Baked potato served with sour cream and bacon chips.
Hearts of lettuce salad with balsamic vinegar dressing
Chunked French Bread
Baked apple for dessert (Recipe Below)
Small chocolates (hopefully he brought them) served with cutting board and a super choice cheese.

Baked Apples

Photo by Stuart Mile

One apple per person
1 tsp. butter per apple
Sprinkle of cinnamon per apple
Tiny dash of nutmeg per apple
Cap full of vanilla per apple
Generous scoop of vanilla ice cream per apple
Whipped cream optional

Core a nice sized apple and place in a micro-safe dish, one, two, four, or however many are waiting impatiently for you to serve. Add the next three ingredients.

Cook on high, covered, for 3 to 5 minutes, check for softness. Do not overcook. Ideally the apple should retain an apple shape, but be soft enough for the fork to easily cut.

To serve, top warm apples with a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream. A single squirt of whipped cream is optional.

Enjoy the dessert while you have successfully cleansed your home of anything but the lingering fragrance of apples. A wonderful aroma!

Now that you have everything prepared for a perfect evening, take time for yourself and enjoy my latest erotic romance collection.

Serena Briolette is a young housewife with two children. Check out her adventures and her fertile imagination. Who doesn't love a cowboy?

Serena Briolette makes a conscious decision to recapture a sensual portion of her inner self she worries has become dormant. An exciting temptation greets her almost instantly and she delights in flirting with the possibilities. Follow Serena through three adventures as she uses her vivid imagination to keep a smile on her pretty face. Does the cop really need a body like that to do his job? Who doesn't love a cowboy? Certainly not Serena. Naughty or nice? You decide.

EXCERPT
“When did you become so timid? You were once party girl personified.” Memories flashed of dancing cheek to cheek with a tall exceedingly male body whispering compliments, his arms wrapped possessively around her. Had his lips nibbled her ear and trailed kisses across her face and lips? His muscular legs had pressed firmly against hers, and heat flashed as she became conscious of his need. They swayed sensuously against each other to the slow dance tune. She shuddered with the remembered exquisite pleasure of opening her mouth to him as they held the pose, their eyes locked in the crowded dance hall.

Serena nodded and walked to the closet door where she threw the cocktail dress over her head. It slithered and settled, leaving her with half her breasts exposed and most of her legs. The reflection in the mirror now presented someone only slightly familiar—five-feet-five, a well-rounded woman all on display. Nothing shamed her. Her charms were all there for the world to admire, and the total package was not unattractive. Would it do the job?

Brushing her hair backwards, she slid sparkling, dangling earrings to her ears. Nodding her head slightly she watched the light tease and play across the crystals with each of her movements. She shook her shoulders, and her dress lit up like the fireworks on the Fourth of July.

Stockings! She had forgotten her stockings.

She examined her legs, well-tanned and taut from routine exercise classes she attended faithfully. No stockings, she decided. Reaching down, she caressed her bare legs as she peeked over her shoulder at herself in the mirror. “

“My.” The word slipped out involuntarily as she viewed the brief skirt that covered almost nothing, certainly not her modesty.

“Oh, my.” Would she go out in public in such a daring outfit?

Amazon Buy Link

Sunny Lane is as free-spirited as butterflies in summer. She is an author who ventures to walk on the risqué side of life.

Sunny is a Gemini and has many loves that include Traditional Regency as Emma and Cozy Mysteries as Janis. She lives with her patient hubby at the edge of town on a few acres in beautiful Western NY.

Stay connected with Sunny Lane and her devilish teases on Facebook.

To read books from Sunny's other personalities please click a name:
Emma Lane for Regency - Janis Lane for mysteries.